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iPod iPod 80 gig OR refurbished 60 gig??

J

jbembe

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 2, 2003
765
0
Baltimore, MD
I can't decide between the two, so I'd like to hear anyone's suggestions. I would like the 80, it would fit my entire library of music (59gigs) and leave room to spare for photos & pictures taken from my digital camera.

BUT it is 350$ and I'd want to get the applecare because I've had a first and third generation with hard drive failures and other issues because of my heavy useage. I've tried sticking with the shuffle since there's no sensitive hard drive but it only loads 1gig of stuff and I can't browse any music spur of the moment, only things I remember to load prior to using. Plus I run out of music on trips as well...

The 60gig is very attractive because its only 230$ right now. If I limit my music collection to songs rated higher than 2 stars, I only have 42 gigs which still leaves room for photos, etc. Plus I can specifically load anything I want with a bit of management of my music collection. However, my wife is concerned that a refurbished iPod will crap out soon and I'll be dissappointed in the long run.

Oh, what to do. Suggestions, thoughts?:confused:
 
I would go with the 60 gig and Apple Care.


But thats just me.


Get what you want!
Whatever makes you happy.

If you cant afford the 80, go with the 60.
If the 80 is no trouble to get, do it. :D
 
Go for the 80GB. You can always buy Applecare within the year of your warranty if you decide you need to.
 
I was given that choice and took the 60 gig, though I didn't get it refurbished, but rather used the $180 off a new iPod deal from Apple (which doesn't apply to the 80 gig model).

Very pleased with the purchase.

The nice part though is that the 80 gig has a brighter screen, longer battery life, and new headphones.
 
lilstewart said:
The 60GB drive formatted is about 55GB storage space.

I'd go with the 80GB. :)
Click to expand...

Formatting plays much less of a part in it.

The main problem is that computers use the wrong terms for binary numbers. Computers say "1GB" when they should say "1GiB." 1GB = 1x10^9 bytes whilst 1GiB = 1x2^30 bytes.

So 60GB = 60,000,000,000 bytes
= 58,593,750 kibibytes (KiB - the term computers should use)
= 57,220.46 mebibytes (MiB - again, using "Mega" is incorrect)
= 55.88 gibibytes (GiB - the correct, binary prefix)

Anything less than the ~55.88GiB of storage on a 60GB iPod is due to formatting and pre-loaded software, it's much less than the supposed ~4GB "lost."

Computers need to be re-jigged to stop reporting binary measures of capacity in SI units, to do so is inappropriate as SI units have specific values which are not reflected in binary units.

HDD manufacturers are correct, they state 1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes but computers use the same prefix for a unit other than 1x10^9 items - this shouldn't be done. Computers should either quote capacity in the correct SI units (where a 60GB iPod would be reported as ~60GB minus the actual lost space to formatting and software) or use the proper binary terms (where a 60GB iPod would be reported as ~55.88GiB minus the space lost to formatting/software) to be correct.
 
jbembe said:
hmm, I thought the 60 & 80 had the same battery life...

anyone have concerns over the refurbished quality?
Click to expand...

The 60GB and the 80GB iPods have the same battery life for audio playback but due to new energy management the new 80GB iPod has much longer video and photo slideshow playback time.

The old 60GB will have a duller screen, no search function, shorter battery life for video playback and the old headphones.

The 80GB will be more expensive but brand-spanking new with all the new features and a 6.5 hour video playback battery life.
 
jbembe said:
hmm, I thought the 60 & 80 had the same battery life...

anyone have concerns over the refurbished quality?
Click to expand...
i got a refurbed 60 and the quality is amazing (just like a new iPod IMO, pristine quality), and they do indeed have the same battery life from what i am aware of. For the OP however i'd say to get the 80 though, and then buy Applecare later on if they do not want to spend the money at once. They will be happier to let their library have the ability to grow and fit all on it right now. Applecare can cover iPods as long as they are bought within the first year.
 
can I transfer data via firewire or only usb2.0? I'm not sure if my G4 iMac has 2.0 vs. 1.0 connections...

Actually, from apple's tech page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86793) it looks like all I have is firewire, no usb2.0!

What is my solution for the new ipods? (a new computer is not an option)

Maybe my dock from the 3rd generation iPod I have will work? Anyone know?
 
jbembe said:
can I transfer data via firewire or only usb2.0? I'm not sure if my G4 iMac has 2.0 vs. 1.0 connections...

Actually, from apple's tech page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86793) it looks like all I have is firewire, no usb2.0!

What is my solution for the new ipods? (a new computer is not an option)
Click to expand...

Plug it in, start the sync and go to bed - it's gonna take a hell of a long time over USB 1.1 There is no way to use Firewire for the new iPods - no converters exist, the firewire chipset is no longer present in the iPod.

It's USB or nothing, it will still work with your iMac but it will take much, much longer to sync.
 
Well, I'm uploading the library onto my brand new 80gig that arrived today. This will be the first time I have been able to carry my entire library with me everywhere, that will be nice. Of course, its been about 5-6 hours and finished 10 gigs, only 50 more to go....:p
 
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